My daughter is five and has quite the social life! She’s made many friends from various facets of her life and my life combined – school, church, sports and recovery meetings. She’s the type of child who writes an invite list to her birthday party that’s longer than her Christmas wishlist. Needless to say, she […]
Disabled Parenting
Help Protect the Rights of Parents with Disabilities in Massachusetts
Attention Massachusetts Residents: Please take a moment to call or email your state Senator and Representative and ask them to cosponsor HD. 1584 (Lead Sponsor: Rep. Heroux) and SD. 1110 (Lead Sponsor: Sen. L’Italien): An Act prohibiting discrimination against adults with disabilities in family and juvenile court proceedings. This legislation will protect the rights of parents […]
Happy Holidays from the Disabled Parenting Project!
Dear friend, As the Disabled Parenting Project’s first holiday season draws near, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our many achievements in 2016, and more importantly, thank all of our supporters! Since the DPP’s launch in March, things for us have been incredibly exciting! We have a growing membership, impressive following on […]
Christmas from the Chair: Advice from a Disabled Mom
My name is Amanda Northrup. I am 34-years-old and from Tennessee. I am a wife, mom, working artist, gym developer and an advocate for inclusion in fitness for the disabled. I also happen to be a quad amputee and in a wheelchair. I had meningitis at 4-years-old and have been disabled for 30 years. I […]
Learning to be Thankful
First of all, I would like to say that this is in no way a religious post. I am all about attitude- and character- improvement. I am not here to judge anyone, though I do spend a whole lot of time judging myself. Being disabled doesn’t change the fact that sometimes I compare myself to […]
LapBaby: The Babywearing Solution for Wheelchair Users?
The Disabled Parenting Project (DPP) recently had the opportunity to review the LapBaby, a hands-free baby carrier. The LapBaby was designed to allow parents to safely hold their baby hands-free while in the sitting position. While not specifically designed for parents who are wheelchair users, the LapBaby holds great potential! Below are reviews from DPP […]
Spastic Mama: International Traveling with a Toddler
I’m turning forty next year. When discussing possible plans with a friend of mine she echoed my feelings exactly, “When you grow up with a disability and you turn forty you deserve a parade.” A parade not because you are an inspiration, but for dragging your body through forty years of physical pain, while attempting […]
How Being A Blind Mother Is Like Being On the Walking Dead
We have a strict rule in our house…Sunday nights, from 9-10pm, both kids must be in bed. There is no talking. No cell-phones and absolutely no weekend sex. Ain’t nobody got time for that when they could be watching Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon take on a herd of walkers! The post-apocalyptic world of zombies versus […]
Trunk-or-Treat as an Accessible Option for Families with Disabilities
Our family loves Halloween-the decorations, the spooky factor, the costumes, and for the kids-the candy! The ultimate culmination of Halloween is trick or treating. My husband and I are both wheelchair users and we don’t live in a neighborhood with sidewalks. Even if we did though, most porches would make it impossible for us to […]
Getting the Team Back in The Game
“I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.” ~ Mia Hamm As a parent, I feel that the perfect metaphor for what I do as “Co-Captain” of my team is to be as organized as I can and build up my […]